Dave: Date #1

Date No. 1 started out with a bang. Well, maybe not so much a bang as the “thwump” of me smacking the palm of my hand to my forehead. Let me explain.

I’ve known Dave since the beginning of this year, and I’ve wanted to go on a date with him. He’s kind, good looking, fun to be around, has great taste in music, and we’ve had some really deep conversations about life, God, and art. In fact, Dave is a phenomenally talented visual artist. He has many impressive credits to his name, and was just nominated for a City Weekly “Arty” award for illustration (http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-8731-artys-2009-ballot.html– vote for him!). Despite all of this, we have never been on an official “date”, so I thought that he would be a great choice to ease into this project with.

I told Dave about the idea and he was supportive. He suggested that we go to the “Craft Lake City” event at the Gallivan Center and check out the art, music, and crafts on display. As soon as I got off the call with him, I excitedly texted my friend, Winter, to tell her that I was going on date number one that night with the artist we’d gone to see at the gallery stroll.

At least, I thought I texted her… until I got a text back from Dave saying, “Would that be me?”

FAIL.

This is where the thwumping took place. I would have been a little mortified if I weren’t laughing so hard.

Dave came to pick me up and got lots of points for chivalrous conduct. Our conversation was easy, balanced, and comfortable. When we arrived, it was amazing how many people there knew him. We had just slipped into the crowd when he ran into two fellow artists. Which meant I got to meet a lot of the interesting and talented people he associates with.

Dave suggested a scavenger hunt in the festival to look for something awesome. (Which he won when he came across a table selling items entirely made of duct tape…) The exhibits ranged from solar generators to Native American flute-making to books bound with random things like Monopoly boards, to an accessory line called Sneaky Featus (YES.) and beyond. I loved being surrounded by so much creative energy and initiative.

The display that took the “Um…okay…” award was a table devoted to nothing but identical ceramic dinosaurs in different poses. And also, large spider christmas tree ornaments made out of ceramic and pipe cleaners. I couldn’t tell you why.